


The One Where The Tables Have Turned

by shepardly



Series: Murphy's Law [5]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-13 19:09:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9137491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shepardly/pseuds/shepardly
Summary: Hanzo's team returns early from a mission to find the base under attack. When faced with the possibility of losing team members to Talon, McCree takes back everything he's ever said about self-sacrificing idiots.





	1. Chapter 1

Hanzo carefully leaned out of the doorway to check the hall, arrow nocked and ready. It was strangely quiet, but he would not be fooled. He swiftly made his way down the hall, footsteps near silent, and palmed a door control to open and ducked in, closing it behind him before it could even open fully.

He stopped in the entryway to the darkened room, letting his eyes adjust. The fluttering curtains on the broken window were only letting a sliver of bright moonlight in, casting the familiar room in dark shadows. Just when he had decided the room must be empty, he heard a faint sigh and scuff as someone moved.

Hanzo carefully stepped further into the room, craning his neck to check all corners, bow still ready.

Someone was flat on their back on the floor by the bed. Hanzo stopped dead for a second, mind working quickly to identify the person and rate danger levels. His train of thought stalled, however, when it identified the person as McCree and the dark shiny patches on him and the floor as blood.

“Han…?” Jesse faintly gasped in the dark, a quaver in his voice. Hanzo barely noticed Stormbow and arrow clattering to the ground as he leapt forward, dropping to his knees by Jesse.

The cowboy had obviously been sleeping when the attack began. The bed looked like he had tumbled out of it, and he was bare of everything but his boxer briefs. His right hand was loosely curled where it lay on his lower abdomen.

“Where are you hurt? What happened?” Hanzo whispered as he frantically grabbed the top sheet off of the bed, wishing he could turn on the lights to see properly.

“I… I don't… ungh...” Jesse faintly groaned before falling silent. Hanzo could barely make out his face, but could see a light sheen of sweat and heavily hooded eyes in the moonlight.

Hanzo turned to locating and identifying the injury himself, starting by checking McCree’s thready pulse and making sure the skin at his throat was intact. He gently moved his hands down Jesse’s muscled body, feeling for torn flesh, and cringed when his fingers hit something protruding from just under Jesse’s ribs a couple inches from the materials that made up his left side. Jesse choked out a whimper, and Hanzo quickly realized that it was a crossbow bolt buried deeply in his flesh. Blood was welling up around the bolt, trickling across tanned skin, and pooling in the spaces between flesh and prosthetic materials.

Hanzo carefully packed the sheet around the bolt, taking special care to not move it, and applied as much pressure as he dared. Jesse groaned, a spasm shuddering through his entire body. 

“Tell me what happened, Jesse.” Hanzo’s voice pitched a touch louder than he should allow considering the circumstances, but he didn't care at the moment. “Open your eyes and look at me.”

Jesse struggled to obey, eyelids fluttering open. Hanzo’s eyes adjusted to the dark enough to see the fingers on Jesse's right hand twitch, but he otherwise remained limp and still on the floor.

“You… really here?” Jesse barely managed to choke out weakly. 

“I'm here.” Hanzo leant over him to press their foreheads together without removing his hands from the makeshift bandage. “I'm sorry I did not return sooner.”

“Missed… you.” Jesse slurred, lips quirking in a smile. Despite everything he was still clearly and genuinely glad to see Hanzo, who felt tears prick at the back of his eyes at that thought. Jesse’s eyes slid shut; he appeared to be barely breathing. 

“Jesse, you must stay awake.” Hanzo put as much authority into his voice as possible, grabbing Jesse’s hand and pressing his palm to Hanzo’s face. “Please, Jesse. Don't leave.”

Something smacked flesh with an audible _thwack_ and Jesse flinched with a grunt. Hanzo spun towards the sound and saw a gold-sparking glow melting into Jesse’s thigh, and tracing the angle revealed a hooded figure in the window of the tower across the transport landing area, barely visible through the gently waving curtains.

Amari. 

Jesse gasped, his chest heaving, and he shuddered on the floor as his breathing sped up until he was nearly panting. Feeling his throat, Hanzo realized his pulse had grown stronger but was on the verge of racing.

“Hanzo…” Jesse weakly grabbed Hanzo’s arm, stirring restlessly on the floor. He tried to lift his head and nearly cried out in pain, trying to clutch at the wound. Hanzo barely caught his hand in time, managing to avoid another bump against the bolt.

“Jesse, you must remain still.” Hanzo kept his voice low but urgent. “There are enemies searching for us, so we must be silent.”

Jesse didn't seem to hear him, still feebly moving and growing more distressed by the second despite Hanzo’s attempts to soothe him. 

“Hurts…” Jesse whimpered pitifully. Another _thwack_ and he slumped with a sigh, sporting a blue glow on his thigh that was nearly on top of where the healing pellet had hit him.

Hanzo pulled the drawer of the bedside table open and reached around blindly until he found the familiar shape of an ear bud communicator. Ana was already talking quietly when he finally managed to seat it in his ear.

“...McCree’s room, and he’s injured.” Hanzo caught the tail end of her report.

“So we’re just missing D.Va and Junkrat at this point.” Soldier:76 was also speaking more quietly than normal. “We need eyes out for them, but I want everyone to make a retreat and meet at the emergency rendezvous.”

“Negative, I cannot move McCree.” Hanzo had to interject. “His injuries… I have no medical training, but I believe moving him will injure him further.”

“From what I can see, I have to agree with Hanzo. He needs some triage before it will be safe to move him.” Ana sighed. “I used up my last healing pellet on him, too. Haven't had a chance to restock since we got back.”

“Oi, I found D.Va and Junkrat.” Tracer whispered over the connection. “They’re being held in the meeting room closest to the hangar, and I’m pretty sure Talon is just waiting for another transport to take them out of here.”

“We can’t let them take them!” Winston sounded alarmed, and clearly wasn’t anywhere he needed to be quiet as his voice boomed louder than anyone else’s.

“We won’t.” Soldier growled. “Hanzo, you’re the closest out of anyone else. Can you get over there to give Tracer support?”

Hanzo looked down at Jesse’s still form, and checked under the makeshift bandages he had packed around the bolt. The bleeding didn’t seem to be nearly as bad as it had been, likely thanks to Ana’s healing dart, but he would be helpless if any Talon forces came searching the rooms again.

“I’ll watch over him, Hanzo.” Ana quietly assured him. “He’ll be fine. The others need you.”

Hanzo was frozen, even though he knew what he must do.

“Hanzo!” Soldier:76 barked.

“Understood. I will make my way towards the hangar.”

Hanzo took a shuddering breath before carefully placing his hands on either side of Jesse’s face, bending low to speak quietly but urgently to the unconscious man.

“You must keep fighting, Jesse McCree. I will return soon.” Hanzo wanted to say more, wishing he would open his eyes and look at him, but settled for kissing his forehead. Hanzo pulled a pillow off of their bed and placed it under Jesse’s head before retrieving Stormbow and slipping out into the hall once more.

The further away he got, the more quickly he moved. The sooner they retrieved Song and Fawkes, the sooner he could get back to Jesse.

He encountered two Talon agents that were apparently patrolling the halls, probably watching for any Overwatch stragglers that they had to have known they missed. They were easily and silently dispatched, and Hanzo stuffed the bodies into a nearby janitor’s closet.

Tracer found him as he neared the meeting room she had described, and motioned him towards a dark storage room where they could talk.

“They just moved D.Va and Junkrat to the hangar.” Tracer whispered, flicking through photos she had taken discretely to show Hanzo the situation. Song and Fawkes were both bound with their hands behind their backs and had been forced to kneel on the concrete in the hangar where transports were stored. “Six guards, and I heard one of them say that their transport should be here within ten minutes.”

“We must move quickly then. I suggest we use stealth and steal our people away before the rest of the Talon agents are alerted.” Hanzo eyed the photos, looking for any angles they could exploit. 

“Stealth isn't really my style.” Tracer wrinkled her nose. “But I think you're right. It'll be our best bet for getting off clean. Lead the way!”

They were able to slink into the hangar unnoticed, sticking to the cover of crates and barriers.

And that was where everything went wrong.

The large transport that Talon had been waiting for arrived, and the agents began dragging D.Va and Junkrat towards the hangar doors that opened to let them out to it. What seemed like an army of Talon agents were coming from within the base and boarding. D.Va was struggling against her captors and yelling something, but it was already lost to Hanzo in the sound of engines.

Roadhog suddenly charged across the tarmac outside, engaging agents up close and obviously trying to take out their transport. 

“We have to help!” Tracer was practically bouncing with nervous energy and took off. Hanzo tried to stop her, knowing it was a battle with staggeringly bad odds against them, but she was off and running.

Hanzo gritted out a curse and followed, loosing arrows as he went. Every arrow struck true, and Tracer and Roadhog were also making good progress, but it wasn't enough. Junkrat and D.Va were dragged aboard the transport along with a large amount of agents, but there was still a small army left to contend with.

Something clinked on the floor near Hanzo, but he couldn't spare it a glance as three agents bore down on him. He loosed a scatter shot just as Tracer screamed his name and slammed into him from the side.

Hanzo’s head smacked a cement barrier just as his world erupted in flames, and everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

“Hanzo!”

 

Someone was yelling, all too loud and yet sounding strangely far away and tinny. 

 

“Hanzo, come in!” The voice was relentless. “They're taking McCree!”

 

Hanzo’s eyes snapped open and he lurched upright, nearly falling over as the room spun around him. The transport and army of Talon agents was gone from the hangar entry, but the roar of engines outside told him they hadn't left yet. A crate burned and smoked messily nearby, and Hanzo realized that a grenade had gone off alarmingly close to him.

 

Tracer groaned nearby, and he shoved a piece of smouldering crate off of her. The thigh of her leggings was torn and blood mixed with ash. She had pushed him down behind the cement barrier just in time to save his life, but hadn't escaped unscathed herself.

 

“Go,” Tracer whimpered as she clutched at her wound. “Don't- don’t let them take McCree too.”

 

“They may come back.” Hanzo found and shouldered Stormbow. “You must come with me.”

 

Placing one of her pistols back in her hand and making sure she held it securely enough, he picked her up and ran as fast as he could in the direction of the dorms.

 

Talon agents were just dragging McCree’s limp and mostly naked form out of their room by the time he arrived. Tracer managed a few shots, taking out two, before Hanzo put her down on the floor to grab Stormbow and released Dragonstrike, heart pounding.

 

Jesse came terrifyingly close to falling on his face, which would have sent the bolt the rest of the way through his torso, but he somehow managed to twist and land on his shoulder. Hanzo ran to him, carefully pulling him close and turning him onto his back, checking him over for any further injury.

 

“Howdy, darlin’.” Jesse gasped out with a twitch of a grin, somehow already recovered from Ana’s sleep pellet. Hanzo couldn't speak, holding Jesse tightly as they sat among the bodies of Talon agents and tried to calm his heart rate and breathing.

 

“Hanzo, did you get him?” Hanzo finally realized the voice from before was Ana, coming from his ear bud communicator. He must be more concussed than he thought. They would be too far into the hall for her to see what was happening.

 

“Yes,” Hanzo gasped, still winded. “I have him. I… That…”

 

His mind stalled. He had almost lost him. If he had awoken even a moment later...

 

Jesse feebly patted his arm.

 

“It's okay.” The cowboy murmured, his eyes already drifting shut again. “I'm here.”

 

Hanzo hugged him more tightly, still mindful of the bolt in his chest. His makeshift bandage was gone and blood trickled freely down his stomach. His face was ashen, and his eyes appeared sunken. McCree looked terrible. 

 

Soldier:76 skidded into the hall and bolted towards them.

 

“There's more of them headed this way, we can't take them.” Soldier barked. “We gotta go.”

 

Hanzo was feeling stunned. His head was pounding, hands shaking, and he was becoming aware of something wet on the right side of his face. Tracer was still on the floor nearby, hands trembling where they covered her torn-up thigh.

 

Soldier:76 dropped to a knee beside McCree and yanked the bolt from his chest with absolutely no warning. Jesse seized in Hanzo’s arms, eyes flying open as his jaw dropped, head thrown back. To his credit, he didn't scream, but Hanzo suspected it had to do with how he seemed to have completely stopped breathing.

 

Soldier:76 tossed a biotic emitter on the ground, then went to drag Tracer in a bit closer to it in the few short seconds it ran.

 

“Breathe, Jesse.” Hanzo urged, but it was after the biotic field faded before Jesse finally sucked a strained breath in.

 

“Goddamn-” Jesse wheezed, but he kept breathing as he stared wide eyed at the bloodied bolt on the ground. “The hell- was that?!”

 

“Get up, cowboy, we gotta move now.” Soldier:76 ordered, pulling Tracer to her feet. She was able to put some weight on her leg now, but she was still pale and would obviously need help walking. Hanzo checked Jesse’s wound, and saw that it had stopped bleeding. It still looked raw and painful, but he didn't appear to be in any danger of bleeding out.

 

“Can you stand?” Hanzo quietly asked Jesse, but he was already trying to rise. Hanzo helped him to his feet and slid under his right arm to help support him. Soldier was already headed down the hall with Tracer, leaving them to catch up.

 

“Good job I wore my shorts to bed last night.” Jesse groaned, seemingly taking stock of his clothing situation for the first time. “This coulda been even more awkward.”

 

Hanzo snorted, unable to help himself. Jesse had a tendency to sleep naked, so it really was a small miracle that it hadn't been the case this night. Even injured, the cowboy was able to make him laugh.

 

Hanzo held Jesse a bit tighter, trying to hide the tremble in his hands. He didn't say anything when he felt Jesse’s grip on him tighten as well.

 

“You're hurt, sweetheart.” Jesse gently touched Hanzo’s head, turning his face to inspect the damage as best he could while they kept moving.

 

“I am fine.” Hanzo told him, and it was mostly true. His head didn't hurt nearly as bad as it had, obviously having benefitted from Soldier:76’s biotic emitter. 

 

“You're still bleeding.” Jesse insisted, but Hanzo gently shook his hand off and urged them forward faster. 

 

“Head wounds are messy. I will be fine.”

 

Jesse was quiet for a bit, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other.

 

“Hey, Hanzo?” Jesse spoke after a while.

 

“Yes?”

 

“What in hell is going on?”

 

Hanzo sighed, adjusting his grip on the cowboy as they descended the stairs, wondering the same thing.

 

“I'm not sure, but it appears Talon has mounted a raid. Perhaps our use of Watchpoint is not as stealthy as we'd like to think.” Hanzo admitted finally. “We returned from our mission early, which is likely the only reason why so many Overwatch agents have managed to escape.”

 

“I'm glad you're back.” Jesse squeezed him and tried to pick up his pace.

 

“As am I.” Hanzo didn't like to think about what they would have returned to if they had been running on schedule. 

 

Soldier:76 already had Tracer outside and halfway to the wall around the base by the time Hanzo and McCree made it to the door. Before they could get out, Hanzo heard something beep behind them before his world came crashing down for the second time that night.


	3. Chapter 3

Jesse McCree’s body informed him that he was floating. His mind told him that was unlikely. He couldn't quite remember what had happened, but he was pretty sure it hadn't happened anywhere near water or outer space. Still, he couldn't deny that he felt an awful lot like he was floating, drifting in darkness and silence.

 

Something scraped, stone on stone, and clattered. Jesse sucked in a breath that felt and tasted like nothing but dust and broke down coughing. 

 

“McCree!” A familiar voice yelled, sounding muffled and distant.

 

The weight of reality weighed him down, floating feeling giving way to the sensation of cold and hard surfaces pressing against him. Jesse blinked, eyes gradually adjusting to the darkness. It was incredibly dark, but he could see concrete rubble all around him. He tried to move, but his left arm was stuck, and his right leg had something heavy on it as well. Jesse tugged at his arm, panic starting to bubble in his chest. He couldn't feel anything in his arm, and dust threatened to clog his lungs, making it difficult to breathe. How long had he been trapped here? Where was Reyes?

 

“M’here-” Jesse tried to call, but broke into another coughing fit. The scraping noise continued, and he realized he was hearing the sound of someone trying to dig him out.

 

Jesse felt around in the dark, trying to find what was on his leg, but his hand encountered a warm body nearby. He squinted, trying to make out who it was, and his brain slowly began to connect the dots. Reyes was long gone, along with Blackwatch. He wasn't 21 years old and pinned under the rubble. That had been some 16-odd years ago already. 

 

Hanzo lay motionless beside him, covered in a layer of fine dust, fresh blood trickling from a wound above his ear in his hairline.

 

“Han-” Jesse yanked at his trapped left arm, trying to get closer to Hanzo without any success. He reached out and managed to reach the archer’s neck, and found a pulse. A moment of holding his own breath confirmed that Hanzo was still breathing as well.

 

More scraping, and Jesse flinched and threw his right hand up to protect his eyes from the cascade of gravel and dust that came pouring into the space. Whoever was digging them up must have been moving quickly, because it only seemed like a moment before they were sliding into the space beside him.

 

Jesse groggily blinked up at their rescuer, who was already shoving the rubble off of his leg and Hanzo.

 

“Wasn’t fast enough. Sorry.” Jesse rasped his apology to Soldier:76, who chose not to respond as he braced a shoulder against the large chunk of concrete on Jesse’s arm. Rebar creaked as his cybernetic nerves twinged, but the concrete didn't budge.

 

“Shit.” Soldier said distinctly. Voices could be heard in the distance; Talon officers giving orders.

 

“Take Hanzo and go.” McCree coughed again. “I'll be one less problem for Overwatch to worry about.”

 

“We need all the help we can get.” Soldier grunted as he tried to move the concrete again. “Even wannabe cowboys.”

 

“Jack Morrison.” McCree wearily changed tactics, knowing that the man hated being called by his real name on the field. Sure enough, Soldier:76 snapped his visored glare to Jesse. “You know as well as I that you need to cut your losses and get out with what you can.”

 

“The last time he convinced me to leave him behind to save your sorry ass,” Jack jerked a chin towards Hanzo as he started on the clasps at Jesse’s shoulder, “you nearly screamed the place down until we turned back for him. How is that fair? What makes you think this'll be any different?”

 

“Cuz that's kinda what I'm counting on.” Jesse huffed out a shaky laugh. “I know there might not be anything left to rescue, but we can't leave those kids with these assholes. Give me Hanzo’s ear communicator, I'll swallow it or something, give Athena and Winston something to track.”

 

Jack stared at McCree, obviously thinking about it. Footsteps could be heard already. Jesse looked back at him with a silent plea. 

 

Soldier:76 snapped into action, taking the communicator from Hanzo’s ear and putting it in McCree’s right hand before hauling the unconscious archer up and across his shoulders in a fireman’s carry. Jesse reached and managed to graze Hanzo’s fingers before they were gone without a sound.

 

Jesse quickly swallowed the small ear bud communicator, forcing all thoughts of how badly that could go for him out of his mind. It was water proof, right? 

 

He tried to finish what Jack had started, unclipping the clasps for his cybernetic arm, but was unable to reach the release buttons. The prosthetic was starting to send distress signals down the nerves, but nothing was actually exposed or sparking so it was manageable so far. Footsteps told him that Talon agents were getting closer. Instinct warned him to stay silent, but he knew he couldn't do that. Instead, he stirred up the dust with his right arm, triggering another coughing fit.

 

They found him within moments, training weapons and flashlights on him. 

 

“A little help?” McCree wryly gestured towards his trapped arm.

 

Reye’s ghost stepped into view. Jesse’s gut clenched when he realized his odds of survival had just taken a serious plunge. Reaper ducked down into the space where Jesse was trapped, assessing the situation, and drew one of his shotguns.

 

“Look, I just need help with the release buttons, right there,” Jesse tried desperately, shrinking away, but he knew he was about to die. _Sorry, Hanzo._

 

Instead of shooting him in the head or chest, however, Reaper severed McCree’s cybernetic arm just below the shoulder with a single blast.

 

Jesse screamed then, synthetic and organic nerves sparking with white hot agony as hydraulics leaked fluids onto the ground. Reaper wrapped a clawed hand around his right bicep and hauled him out of the rubble, not caring about any further damage he was causing. Once they were clear, he dropped McCree on his knees. 

 

Jesse struggled to remain upright, hunched over in pain, hand shaking as he tried to keep himself from touching the sparking remains of his cybernetic arm. Instinct screamed at him to grab it to hold it together, experience reminded him of what a terrible idea that was. 

 

“Put him with the others.” Reaper ordered as he strode away.

 

Everything lit up with pain again as agents grabbed him by his arms, purposefully and painfully grinding the remains of his cybernetic arm. Jesse choked on a cry, legs giving out as they hauled him up. They didn't seem to care, dragging him out of the rubble and towards the waiting transport, careless of his bare feet and legs dragging and banging into rubble along the route.

 

D.Va started yelling in Korean and struggled when they hauled McCree onboard. Both her and Junkrat were restrained with electro magnet cuffs fastened to the walls of the transport, and neither appeared to be making any progress with their struggles. They looked like they had been dragged out of bed like he had; Hana was wearing her pyjama shorts and an oversized tee shirt with a bunny face on it, and while Jamison still wore his battered cargo shorts, he was mostly clean and his hair wasn't even smouldering. Jesse decided the look didn't suit him, but seeing him without all the soot and grime from battle served as a sobering reminder of how young the pyro-inclined junker was.

 

Jesse couldn't even find it in him to fight them as a cuff was placed around his right wrist and another around his neck. They placed him opposite of Hana and Jamison, magnetizing the neck cuff at an awkward height that forced him to stand up straight and roll up on the balls of his feet just a touch. His right hand was cuffed up beside his head, and he knew it wouldn't be long before his arm would be dead asleep.

 

Everything hurt. His busted prosthetic was first and foremost on the list, but he had become aware of cuts, scrapes, bruises, and possibly fractured bones from having a building fall on his head just recently. His right foot started to cramp and he instinctively tried to flatten his bare feet, but the slight height change nearly cut off his windpipe, making him wheeze. He pushed back up, trying to ignore the spreading cramp, muscles shaking.

 

He knew this whole captured by Talon thing was not going to be good, but this really sucked.

 

Reaper and Widowmaker glided on board and past them without batting an eye, headed for the cockpit. They were followed by one of Talon’s newest top agents, Sombra, who slowed when she saw the prisoners, popping bubbles with her gum as she eyed them thoughtfully before disappearing into the forward area as well. Jesse counted ten Talon grunts sitting on the benches along the walls, but they didn't appear interested in the prisoners. 

 

The transport started moving with a jolt, making his busted cybernetic arm bang against the wall. The pain made Jesse gag, but it fortunately had been hours since he had eaten or drank anything other than the communicator, making it easier to hold it together. He wished he could just get the damaged arm off, but he wasn't sure if the release buttons were functioning even if he could reach them.

 

The transport left the ground and his stomach lurched. Jesse closed his eyes and breathed through his nose, trying not to be sick.

 

He heard someone get up and start walking, and he slowly opened his eyes when the footsteps stopped in front of him. A Talon agent, made faceless by his darkened goggles and mask, stood in front of him, seemingly studying him. Jesse sneered at him, about to make a smart ass comment he would probably regret, when he noticed the surprisingly modern looking crossbow the agent carried on his back.

 

The agent’s shoulders shook in what looked like silent laughter and Jesse realized he must have shown something on his face.

 

Jesse didn't even hesitate. Putting as much weight as possible on his right arm, he somehow managed to curl, lifting both legs and mule kicking the smug sonovabitch right in the chest. A few of the agents jumped to their feet in alarm when crossbow agent landed flat on his ass, while Hana jeered and Fawkes cackled. 

 

Even though he knew it was virtually signing off on his fate, Jesse couldn't resist smirking. The bolt that pinned the remains of his cybernetic arm to the wall wiped that smirk off his face, but he still figured it was worth it even as he passed out


	4. Chapter 4

Waking up introduced Jesse to a whole new world of pain. He sucked in a ragged breath and felt a weak moan escape him when his chest and arm twinged. 

 

Footsteps clomped loudly nearby, and he peeled sticky eyelids open to see Reaper, Widowmaker, and Sombra go by. The transport had already landed, apparently, and he had no idea where they were now. Someone had pulled the bolt from his arm and moved his electromagnetic cuffs down the wall after he had passed out, parking him with his butt on the ground and his legs folded awkwardly but mostly out of the way of the foot traffic going by. 

 

“You, stay here and watch the prisoners.” Reaper ordered, pointing out two agents on his way by. “The rest of you, with me.”

 

One of the Talon agents stepped on his right foot on the way by, making Jesse grit his teeth in an effort to not yell in pain. He couldn't tell through his blurry vision if the culprit had a crossbow on his back, but he was willing to bet who the asshole was.

 

The transport soon emptied, leaving the two guards standing at the door with their backs to the three prisoners. Hana and Jamison were looking at each other strangely, mouthing a silent conversation. Jesse tugged on the cuff on his wrist before giving up and closing his eyes, head pounding.

 

A gentle hand on his shoulder made him flinch badly, jolting painfully against the cuffs as his eyes snapped open again. Hana crouched in front of him, somehow free of her cuffs, a finger to her lips in warning to him before slipping away to join Jamison sneaking up on their guards. They both were able to take out a guard near silently without drawing attention, and they quickly gagged them and put them in the cuffs that had previously held them captive. Hana had retrieved the fob for releasing Jesse’s cuffs, and they soon had him free and tried to pull him to his feet.

 

“Wait,” Jesse’s tongue felt thick, but fortunately Jamison was already on it.

 

“I gotcha.” Jamison likely already knew the problem thanks to having his own prosthetics to deal with, and quickly began inspecting Jesse’s damaged arm. “Okay, here we go.”

 

One final jolt lit up Jesse’s brain before the remains of his cybernetic arm fell away, leaving him wheezing but already feeling better. 

 

“Thanks.” Jesse rasped. “Let's get the hell out of here.”

 

They pulled him upright, and he found he had to lean a lot heavier than he intended on them for a moment, but they managed to get to the door of the transport to peer out. It looked to be about mid morning, and they were parked on an unfamiliar tarmac in front of a large industrial hangar. A single lane road lead away into a dense forest that encroached on all edges of the tarmac and runway. No one was in sight, but distant gunfire and shouts could be heard, likely somewhere down the road.

 

“I say we head for the trees.” Junkrat stage whispered.

 

“What about the hangar?” D.Va hissed back. “Maybe there's a vehicle we could use.”

 

“And what if it's a Talon facility with even more baddies waiting inside? Huh?” 

 

“I hate to say it, but he's right.” Jesse still couldn't shake the rasp in his voice. “We oughta stay low. Athena will be tracking us, they'll send someone to pick us up when they can.”

 

“Tracking us with what?” Hana threw her hands out. “None of us have communicators.”

 

“I'll explain later.” Jesse groaned. “Come on, let's go.”

 

“Wait, wait, wait.” Junkrat stopped them again. “Why don't we just steal the transport?”

 

Jesse and Hana stared at him. 

 

“That’s… actually the smart thing to do.” Jesse finally admitted. 

 

“Not just a hat rack!” Junkrat tapped his head and scampered towards the cockpit with a cackle, but returned before they could follow him. “Never mind, I ain't going near that mess. There’s alarms and locks on everything. I left them a surprise, though, so we should probably go.”

 

“Surprise…?” Hana started but trailed off as they bolted off the transport and into the woods. A muffled explosion went off in the cockpit of the transport, and they looked back to see smoke trailing from the shattered windows before they plunged deeper into the forest.

 

“I found a couple goodies in there.” Junkrat showed off two grenades he had found before stuffing them in his pockets. Jesse cringed at the careless handling of the explosives, but figured the junker knew what he was doing. “No guns or radios, though.”

 

“Then let's just hope it ain't Talon that follows us once they're done with their fight.” Jesse said grimly. 

 

They ran and walked, letting the sounds of gunfire fade away. Jesse wanted to put a fair amount of distance between them and the fight; Overwatch would be able to find them quickly by tracking the communicator that he had swallowed, but Talon would have to track them through the forest. Jesse hoped it was the former that would be following them, but with his luck it would more than likely be the latter. Hana at least had flip flops on, but both Jesse and Junkrat were barefoot as they carefully picked their way over rocks and through bushes. Jamison at least only had one bone and flesh foot to contend with, but his peg leg definitely made hiking a challenge from time to time. 

 

“Did you see who threw that thing?” Hana asked Jamison once they had slowed their pace a bit.

 

“I think it was that Sombra that did it.”

 

“What are you guys talking about?” Jesse was lost. 

 

“Someone threw a little EMP transmitter at the wall that we were stuck on,” Hana explained, “that's how we got free.”

 

“Huh.” Jesse didn't know much about Sombra, but he knew that such a favour wouldn't come for free. He wondered when they would be handed the bill. 

 

It was pushing into the late afternoon before Jesse called for a stop by a stream, feeling sick and out of breath. 

 

“You okay, McCree?” Hana frowned at him. He had regained enough strength to make the trek mostly on his own, only occasionally stumbling, but he could feel himself slowly deteriorating. His right foot and ankle was hurting, likely from where the rubble had fallen on it and then been stepped on, and it was turning a dark shade of purple. “You don't look too good.”

 

“I'll be-” Jesse cut off as he lurched towards a nearby bush where he heaved. His stomach was empty, but he still threw up a thin bile and the communicator made a reappearance.

 

“That's what you meant earlier!” Junkrat crowed, grabbing the communicator out of the dirt, leaves, and bile. He plunged it with his hand into the stream to rinse it off before sticking it in his ear. 

 

“Oooohhhhhhh my god,” Hana moaned, dragging her hands down her face, “that is so gross.”

 

Jesse sat down before he could fall down, leaning against a tree as he tried to catch his breath while Jamison tried to contact Overwatch. His head was spinning and his throat was parched, but Hana caught him looking longingly at the nearby stream. 

 

“Don't even think about it.” She looked glum enough as she said it, obviously having similar thoughts. “Who knows what kind of bacteria is in there. We better wait for Soldier:Dad to find us.”

 

Jesse huffed out a laugh, wincing at the twinge in his gut at the movement.

 

“He ever hear you call him that?”

 

“Yeah, he gave up on telling me off for it like a month ago.” Hana shrugged. “I think it's growing on him.”

 

“You're probably right.” Jesse grinned tiredly at her. 

 

“I got ‘em!” Jamison excitedly informed them before pausing to listen to what was being said. Hana and Jesse could only listen in on the one sided conversation. “Yeah, we’re all together. Are you close? Oh, okay. Just a sec.”

 

Junkrat turned to Jesse and Hana to fill them in. 

 

“They ain't here. Reaper must've stopped to deal with someone else. It'll be a few hours before they'll be here.”

 

Jesse’s heart sank as Junkrat turned back to the communicator. 

 

“How's Hoggy? Yeah, put him on.”

 

“A few hours?” Hana looked worried. “What should we do? It's gonna get cold tonight, and we aren't exactly dressed for the weather. Can we build a fire? Or would that lead Talon right to us?”

 

“Those are all… very good questions.” Jesse blinked heavily. Before he could reply any further, Junkrat was shoving the communicator into his ear. 

 

“Hanzo wants to talk to you, then Lúcio wants to talk to you.” Jamison stabbed a finger at Hana at the end of his sentence. Jesse finished tucking the communicator in, relief already flooding him at the thought of hearing Hanzo’s voice. 

 

“Howdy, darlin’. How you doing?”

 

“Jesse-” Hanzo sounded a bit strangled initially, but he quickly recovered. “I am fine, Dr Ziegler has treated my injuries. Are you well? I can see on a map where you are, but it looks to be in the middle of nowhere.”

 

“Sounds about right. We ran into the woods from some small airport.” Jesse lowered his voice. “And I'm fine.”

 

Hana snorted derisively nearby, but she looked away when he gave her a look. A harder twinge, followed by a cramp rolling through his gut made him gasp then, as if his body was protesting what had just come out of his mouth.

 

“Jesse? What was that?” Hanzo sounded worried, obviously having heard his gasp. 

 

“I…” Jesse looked down at himself and floundered. The middle of his torso looked like one big black and blue bruise, and it felt rigid under his probing fingers. How long had that been there? “Uh…”

 

Hana dug the communicator out of his ear, ignoring his protests, and put it into her own ear with only a flash of a grimace. 

 

“Hi, Hanzo?” She said sweetly. “Could you put Mercy on, please?”

 

Jesse's head reeled, and he felt like he was going to pass out. He sucked in a breath, breathing hard through his nose. Touching the bruise had obviously been a mistake. 

 

“Yeah, Mercy, hi. McCree’s got a wicked bruise on his stomach that I swear I've been watching grow all day, and now he's all clammy and has the shakes. Yeah. Uh-huh. I think his foot is messed up too, he's been hobbling the whole way.” Hana listened more before addressing Jesse. “Did you get shot or stabbed or anything?”

 

“I… crossbow guy…” Jesse said stupidly. His brain and mouth refused to cooperate with each other, and his eyelids were threatening to go on strike next.

 

“Hey, McCree! Don't be nodding off now.” Junkrat jostled his shoulder. Jesse couldn't stop the moan that escaped him at the small movement. It _hurt_. 

 

“Sorry, mate.” Junkrat winced and sat down beside him. “Just stay awake.”

 

“I thought he was gonna pass out but he's still kinda awake.” Hana informed Mercy over the communicator. Jesse wanted to protest that he was fully awake, but his mouth and brain still hadn't made peace with each other. “Yeah, if Hanzo was there, he knows more than I do. McCree just said ‘crossbow guy’ and I have no idea what that means. I mean, there was a guy on the transport that had a crossbow, but he just shot McCree in the cybernetic arm.”

 

Jesse cringed at that. Angela was going to have his head.

 

“Stop ratting on me.” Jesse found his voice enough to growl. 

 

“No, it was already busted when they brought him onboard. There was barely anything left of it.” Hana didn't even miss a beat. 

 

Correction: Angela would have his head on a platter. Possibly a pike, depending on how dark her mood.

 

Hana finished the call by talking to Lúcio for a moment and handed the communicator back to Junkrat. 

 

“They're on their way.” Hana reported, standing over them with her hands on her hips. “McCree isn't supposed to move and we're supposed to check in every half hour or if anything changes.”

 

“Like hell.” Jesse might've been barely functioning but even he could tell that wasn't happening. “Talon ain't gonna just let us walk away. We gotta keep moving.”

 

“I know.” Hana deflated, plopping down beside him. “I'm just telling you what they said to do. Oh! You're warm.”

 

She tucked in close beside him, curious eyes raking over what was left of his cybernetics, but she didn't say anything about it. Either she had already known or was too polite to ask.

 

“I run on the warm side. My armour has a cooling system built in for it but I don't usually wear it to bed.” Jesse explained dryly. 

 

Hana hummed thoughtfully in response, but they all sat in silence for a moment, taking the break that they all needed from the hiking that they had done so far. McCree could feel a headache coming on like a thundercloud. What were they going to do? He couldn't let these kids get captured again, but he knew he was likely going to be slowing them down with his injuries. He was determined to keep going, but he had no idea how much longer he would be able to go. Could he convince them to go on without him? Jamison might possibly be convinced of the rationality of it, but Hana was another story.

 

God, he missed Hanzo. 

 

“Hey, lighten up before your mean mug makes me cry, you grump.” Hana gently nudged Jesse’s shoulder, making him realize he had been scowling while deep in thought. 

 

“Mean mug? Make you cry?!” Jesse sputtered. 

 

“Yeah, mate, you've got your game face on, the one where you show up on the field looking like someone just kicked your dog.” Junkrat nodded sagely. “Makes me scared for whoever did it.” 

 

“Yeah!” Hana clearly agreed. “Sometimes it's so bad I'm like, ‘did _I_ kick the dog?’ and it's worrying.”

 

“It's my face! I can't do nothing about it.”

 

“Whatever you say, sour face.” Hana shrugged.

 

“Have you been talking to Hanzo?” Jesse groaned, and immediately regretted it when Hana’s face lit up like it was Christmas morning. 

 

“No, why? Does Hanzo say you have a sour face too?” Hana nearly shrieked when Jesse shook his head and closed his eyes, trying to pretend the conversation was over. “See! We're not the only ones that think that you're a grump face!”

 

“Have to admit, though, you're not nearly as intimidating when you're in just your knickers.” Junkrat informed him, adding insult to injury.

 

“Mmhmm. Also, I thought you wore that poncho to hide your flab but you really don't have any to hide.” Hana squeezed his arm as if confirming that it was, indeed, muscle there. “So why do you wear that ratty thing?”

 

“You know what? Since you two have enough energy to be criticizing everything I do, you'll have plenty of energy to drag your butts deeper into these woods!” Jesse groused, feeling ganged up on. “And it's a serape! And it ain't ratty!”

 

Hana was still giggling as she got to her feet, and Jesse couldn't help but grin too. However, he lost all mirth when they had to pull him to his feet. The world dipped and spun around him, and it took a moment of leaning hard on Junkrat before he found his bearings.

 

“I'm alright.” Jesse rasped when he saw their mirrored looks of concern. “Let's go.”

 

Fortunately, neither of them said anything, but Jesse noticed they took turns sticking close to him, making sure he wasn't going to fall on his face.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early chapter posting for the day! I'm also planning on posting the final chapter this afternoon, as it's mostly wrap up, and I just want to go over it again. Thanks for reading and all your comments and kudos!

They were moving slower than they had been before, but they still covered a fair amount of ground. Junkrat kept checking in with Athena every half hour, who repeatedly reminded them of what Dr Ziegler had instructed as well as the likelihood of Talon agents on their tails. Jesse eventually found himself concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, but even so he had to readjust for balance nearly every time. It was because of his missing prosthetic, he told himself. His blurring vision and swimming head had nothing to do with it. 

 

“C’mon, partner.” Junkrat stole his line as he grabbed Jesse’s arm and slung it across his shoulders, his wiry frame stronger than it looked. Jesse vaguely wondered why he had only just noticed now how tall the kid was. “Keep up.”

 

Jesse couldn't respond, all his energy going into staying upright. He lost track of time, but it turned to night and it felt like they walked for hours more before his legs simply gave out on him. Junkrat grunted when he was suddenly holding all of Jesse's weight, and Hana yelped as she scrambled to help lay him out on the ground. 

 

“Jesse!” Hana was whispering for some reason. “We gotta keep moving!”

 

“Go… without me.” Jesse was having a hard time breathing, feeling like his lungs were being crushed. “I… I got nothing left.”

 

They dragged him a little further, which hurt like hell, and propped him up against a fallen log before carrying out a heated and whispered conversation over him. Jesse shivered in the cool night air, barely clinging to consciousness.

 

A twig snapped and Jesse caught a flash of red through the trees. His breath caught as he realized that it was Talon catching up to them, and he grabbed Hana’s ankle to get their attention. 

 

“Run!” Jesse croaked. “Get outta here!”

 

“We can't leave you!” Hana wailed, even as Junkrat reluctantly tugged at her, clearly thinking about running but having second thoughts about it.

 

An explosion far too close for comfort suddenly lit up the night. Hana and Jamison hit the ground beside Jesse, but Jamison was up again within a split second, practically tossing Hana over the log while scrambling over it himself and they both reached over to bodily drag Jesse over it as well.

 

Jesse hit the ground on the other side hard and lay gasping for air, stunned, and wondering if the gunfire and screams were real or part of a fevered dream.

 

“ _Ryuuga wagateki wo kurau!_ ”

 

He definitely hoped that bellow was real.

 

“It's Overwatch!” D.Va shouted as Junkrat whooped, looking like he wanted to leap into the fray. Considering that they were mostly weaponless and barely had a single full set of clothing amongst the three of them, he wisely hung back, crouched behind the shelter of the fallen log. 

 

Something hit the ground with a heavy thud nearby, and Jesse dimly heard Pharah call for Mercy before she was leaning over him, her mouth set in a thin line. He tried to get out a ‘hey, kiddo’ but ended up choking and wheezing. 

 

“Dammit, McCree,” Fareeha bit out, “you're lucky mom isn't here; she'd kick your ass.”

 

Jesse would've laughed if he'd had the breath to spare, his lips twitching with a grin. He felt like crap, but relief was flooding his system now even as the gunfire continued. Junkrat was crowing somewhere nearby, and he heard a pin clink as one of the pilfered grenades made its way from Junkrat’s pocket and into the fray.

 

Mercy landed and hit him with the beam from her Caduceus staff. His scrapes and bruises almost immediately felt better, but when he tried to take a deeper breath his chest still felt like he was being crushed.

 

“Why isn't he getting better?” Hana sounded scared, and Pharah was looking at Mercy questioningly as well.

 

“I need to get him to the transport.” Angela looked grim. “Just hang on, McCree. I will fix this.”

 

“Seventy Six, we need cover fire to get them onboard.” Pharah got on her comm as Mercy used her Valkyrie suit to easily lift Jesse. All his strength had drained away, leaving him unable to even hang on to her, his head lolling against her shoulder as he wheezed, straining for air.

 

“Go, go, go!” Pharah was shouting, and they were moving. Another explosion as Junkrat threw his last grenade, and the gunfire was deafening. Jesse’s heart leapt when he caught a glimpse of Hanzo crouched on top of the transport, firing arrows into the dark woods, and then he was onboard and being settled on a stretcher near the back that felt much too narrow for his shoulders.

 

Angela quickly activated a rarely used and small medical sterile shield around them and he tasted ozone as it zapped the air within. She muttered to herself as she ran a scan while somehow placing an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose at the same time, and pulled out a syringe.

 

“Stay with me, Jesse.” Angela ordered, and he pried open eyes that he hadn't realized had fallen shut. “You've been bleeding internally, but the Caduceus system repaired that damage. However, what blood you lost is still in there with nowhere to go and that's why it's so hard to breathe. I need to drain the blood to lessen the pressure, so I need you to stay very still.”

 

She unloaded the syringe directly into his neck and placed a blue patch that felt icy on his stomach. It quickly bonded with his skin and he soon went numb. Angela produced a scalpel from somewhere and his laboured breathing hitched. He trusted her but he realized that he was _scared_. 

 

“This won't hurt, but don't look.” Angela murmured as she went to work. “Try to relax.”

 

He couldn't help it; he looked, and instantly regretted it. She had sliced through the patch and his abdomen, and blood immediately welled up and over, spilling from him at alarming rates. Jesse let his head drop again, his heart practically galloping in his chest. She worked quickly, using and discarding a variety of tools, and he tried to not look at the clear tubes that were sucking the blood away. It didn't take long before breathing became easier, the pressure easing off of his lungs. Instead of being invigorated by the extra oxygen, Jesse could feel himself sinking into the stretcher, his eyelids growing heavy. He wanted to sleep for a year. 

 

The transport began filling up with Overwatch agents, and he heard Soldier bang on the cockpit door to let Tracer know to take off. The medical shield had a foggy quality to it for privacy’s sake, but Jesse was pretty sure he could make out Hanzo sitting beside D.Va on the bench nearby.

 

“Almost done.” Angela said softly. Jesse slowly blinked, not wanting to take his eyes off of Hanzo’s hazy silhouette, but he started to drift in and out of it.

 

Angela must have shut down the medical shield as soon as she finished closing him up, because Hanzo was suddenly there, touching his face. 

 

“He’ll be fine.” Angela said to Hanzo. “I'm going to take a look at his leg now, and he needs rest for a few days to let everything completely heal, but he'll be fine.”

 

“Hanzo…” Jesse blindly fumbled until he caught Hanzo’s hand, relieved to see him. He looked him over, making sure he was okay, and gently touched his face when he noticed the side of the archer’s head was shaved.

 

“He's alright, Jesse.” Angela must have seen the questioning look on his face as she worked, taking his hand away from Hanzo to place an IV as well as a blood transfusion in his arm, and pulled a blanket from somewhere to cover him. “His wound is completely closed already, and I expect it to heal without scarring.”

 

“She shaved my hair off.” Hanzo lamented, looking miserable about it.

 

“I didn't exactly have a choice, did I?” Angela sounded exasperated, obviously having gone over this at least once before, but she didn't look up from her scans of Jesse’s badly bruised right leg. 

 

“Did you have to take so much?” Hanzo shot back, gingerly touching the shaved area that spread out in all directions a few inches from his ear. Even his tuft of silver hair was gone. Jesse laughed a bit breathlessly, and Hanzo took his hand again, looking concerned. 

 

“I'm just glad you're okay.” Jesse managed to get out, and that's when the waterworks started. Everything that had happened was coming crashing down on him. Being careful of the oxygen mask and IV’s, Hanzo slid his arms under Jesse’s back to wrap him in a hug. 

 

“It's okay.” Hanzo murmured in his ear as he gasped out a sob. 

 

“I was so scared, Han,” Jesse clung to him as tightly as he could with one arm, “I didn't know if you were okay, and then I thought that they got us again-”

 

Hanzo murmured a litany of reassurances, comforting him until he had calmed down.

 

“Aw, hell,” Jesse finally grumbled, wiping awkwardly at his eyes, “my face is leaking. Sorry. Didn't mean to lose it like that.”

 

Hanzo kissed him on the forehead and used a cloth that Angela gave him to dry his eyes and pulled the oxygen mask down around his neck to wipe his nose as well. 

 

“Ugh.” Jesse couldn't look anyone in the eye, embarrassed by his breakdown. “Sorry.”

 

“Jesse, look at me.” Hanzo gently touched his face and patiently waited until Jesse looked back at him. “You have nothing to be ashamed of. You did well. I'm sorry we were not here sooner.”

 

“I'm just glad you came.” Jesse smiled, hugging Hanzo again as his eyes threatened to well up again. “And you make any haircut look good.”

 

Hana suddenly let out a gasp from where she was sitting on the bench, wrapped in a blanket and forgotten by Jesse and Hanzo until now. “I just realized I know how to fix it, Hanzo. I know a guy. He's great. He'll know what to do.”

 

Hanzo slowly disentangled himself from Jesse to sit up with the expression of a long suffering victim. Jesse patted his arm encouragingly.

 

“If you insist.” Hanzo stiffly allowed, to which Hana cheered.

 

“Don't worry, you won't regret it!”

 

“You can _not_ tell Genji.” Hanzo warned, somehow making it sound like a threat.

 

“Deal!”


	6. Chapter 6

It was still several hours before they made it back to Watchpoint. Angela checked D.Va and Junkrat over, handed them water bottles and ordered them to get rest and food when they got home. Hana spent some time on a tablet she had snagged from someone, messaging people and checking her feeds, but she eventually nodded off, sprawled across the bench with her head on Soldier:76’s thigh. Jamison was wrapped in a blanket and snoring, leaning up against Roadhog, who had a protective hand on his shoulder.

 

Jesse slept like a log, obviously exhausted from their escapade and the aftermath of his injuries, and likely with some help from whatever it was that Dr Ziegler had given him. Hanzo stayed nearby, out of Dr Ziegler’s way but close enough to rest his hand on Jesse’s shoulder, grounding and reassuring himself.

 

“We're almost there.” Dr Ziegler informed Hanzo, who nodded in acknowledgment and sat up to smooth a hand over Jesse’s forehead. He was a touch warm, but as that was normal for him Hanzo didn't think he was feverish. Jesse stirred, blinking open bleary eyes. He smiled when he saw Hanzo, not even fully awake yet.

 

“How do you feel?” Hanzo asked, folding his blanket down and lifting the edge of the bandage on his abdomen to check the pink and still healing scar from his field surgery. The large bruise was fading, a shade of sickly green and yellow. Jesse sucked in a breath when Hanzo skimmed his fingers over it, and Hanzo looked at him questioningly. 

 

“Your hands are cold.” Jesse complained, but there wasn't any heat in it. Hanzo prodded his shoulder, waiting. “Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Are we there?”

 

The transport came to a stop and the door slid open. Soldier:76 was first to disembark, carrying a sleeping Hana as easily as a child with one arm, followed shortly by Roadhog and a yawning Jamison before everyone else trickled off. 

 

Hanzo helped Jesse sit up and he swung his legs over the edge of the stretcher with a groan, gripping the edge with his hand until he was white knuckled. Hanzo caught the blanket before it could fall and draped it over Jesse’s shoulders. Jesse was inspecting his right leg and flexing his toes, which also sported a fading bruise and didn't appear to be causing him any pain. Hanzo briefly marvelled at the abilities of the Caduceus system. 

 

“One moment…” Angela caught them before they could leave and quickly scanned Jesse to check his vitals again. “Are you feeling okay? Any dizziness? Headache?”

 

“Nah, I'm fine.” Jesse planted both feet on the floor and Hanzo took that as a sign of being ready to go, and pulled him upright. He swayed for a split second but regained his balance quickly enough before flashing them a crooked grin. “Right as rain.”

 

Angela rolled her eyes and turned to relay instructions to Hanzo. “Normally I would keep him in the medbay for observation, but with my medbay in disarray that won't happen tonight. Keep an eye on him, but I want you both to get rest. I'll be busy, but I'll have my communicator on, so if anything changes please let me know immediately.”

 

“Thank you, Dr Ziegler.” Hanzo said gratefully. He would have to ask Fareeha later about the best way to express his thanks to their miraculous medic. 

 

“Please, call me Angela.” She smiled warmly at him. “All my friends do.”

 

“Thank you, Angela.” Hanzo smiled back, and then she was gone. Jesse gently bumped shoulders with him, pulling the blanket tighter around his shoulders. 

 

“See, I told you she'd warm up to you.” Jesse sleepily yawned.

 

“It seems you were correct.” Hanzo looked up at him fondly. “Don't let it go to your head. Your hat won't fit.”

 

Jesse barked out a laugh as they moved towards the door, but he went quiet when he saw the damage to Watchpoint around the transport. There were gaping holes in the sides of the base, and smoke still billowed from the hangar. Hanzo led him to the temporary entrance that had been set up in one of the gaping holes as the normal entrance had been caved in on top of their heads the last time they had both been here. Once inside, Jesse stopped dead, and Hanzo looked up to see a lost expression on his face. What was going through the cowboy’s mind, Hanzo could only imagine. It was easy to forget that the normally good-natured man had a dark past with scenes similar and worse to this one.

 

It wasn't as bad as it could have been. They had suffered no casualties, and Hana and Jamison were safely returned from Talon’s clutches. Bullet holes riddled walls, consoles sparked and smoked, but the area was bustling with activity as agents worked on cleaning up. Once the returning team was spotted, the work was largely but temporarily abandoned as they were greeted with joyful shouts. Soldier:76 put a groggy Hana on her feet just as Lùcio tackled her with a hug, and Zarya delivered a back-cracking slap to Jamison’s shoulder in greeting. 

 

Hanzo took Jesse's arm, mindful of his hand holding the blanket on and startling him out of his revery. The man looked half asleep on his feet. 

 

“Come, Jesse.” Hanzo hoped his hand was as comforting to Jesse as Jesse’s was to him. “I'll show you to bed.”

 

Many of the dorms had been damaged in the fighting, but a few had been cleared and deemed fit for living in, at least for a couple days before serious repairs were done. Jesse's was one of them- after having the window boarded up and floor swept and cleaned- but Hanzo shuddered at the thought of sleeping in a room that still had Jesse’s blood stain on the floor. Instead, he led him past and up a flight of stairs and down another dorm hall to his own, largely unused room.

 

Jesse let out a sigh when he stepped into the room, letting the blanket pool to the floor, leaving him in just his boxers once again. Hanzo turned on the bedside lamp and shed his jacket, and soon had a sleepy cowboy draped over his back, arm wrapped around his chest, rumbling out another tired sigh.

 

“You are filthy.” Hanzo wrinkled his nose. He hated to say it, considering that Jesse really needed to sleep, but it wouldn't be comfortable sleeping with all the dirt and dried blood on him. “You need to shower.”

 

Jesse pouted for a moment but didn't complain before heading into the washroom, and Hanzo heard the shower turn on. A few minutes passed before he heard Jesse pitifully call his name.

 

“Yes?” Hanzo opened the door to see Jesse holding the body wash bottle out towards him.

 

“It's been a while, apparently, and the lid’s all gummed up,” Jesse said sheepishly, “I can't get it open with one hand.”

 

Hanzo opened the bottle and made to back out, but Jesse stopped him again.

 

“I'm not gonna be able to reach my back either…” 

 

Hanzo lifted an eyebrow at him. Jesse spread what he probably thought was a charming grin but was more lopsided than anything.

 

“I could perhaps go find you a replacement arm…” Hanzo started teasingly, to which Jesse groaned. 

 

“Don't even joke about that, I can't believe I have to get my arm done _again_.”

 

“Perhaps you should be more careful.”

 

“It wasn't my fault! It hasn't been my fault the last few times.” Jesse was mournful. “I've lost that damn thing more times these past six months than I have in years.”

 

Hanzo relented, stripping down and stepping into the shower with Jesse. 

 

“No funny business.” He warned Jesse, pouring a liberal amount of the soap on a bath sponge. “You need rest.”

 

“Don't I know it.” Jesse sighed wistfully, but he stood dutifully still while Hanzo carefully scrubbed away the grime and dried blood, turning when instructed. He climbed out and dried off once Hanzo was satisfied, and Hanzo quickly washed himself before following Jesse into the room, where he found him half heartedly pawing through his underwear drawer. 

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“I dunno, with everything that happened, makes me think I should invest in a pair of pajama pants.” Jesse shrugged, trying to joke but falling short. He looked exhausted and troubled. “One outing in my shorts was one too many for me.”

 

Hanzo wrapped his arms around Jesse from behind, pressing kisses against his shoulder. 

 

“I'm here now, Jesse.” Hanzo squeezed him more tightly, a smirk trying to have its way on his lips. “I'll defend you and your right to sleep in the buff.”

 

Jesse's shoulders shook and Hanzo listened to the rumble through his back as he laughed. He turned so he was facing Hanzo to hug him back. 

 

“I'm glad we're back.” Jesse hugged him tightly. “Damn, let’s never do that again.”

 

“Agreed.” Hanzo murmured. Waking up without Jesse there and then being told he had allowed himself to be captured by Talon to save others… As proud as he was of the cowboy, he did not want to have to live through that again. “Come, I have some food and water here for you before we go to bed.”

 

***

 

They didn't awake until the next morning was nearly over, and it was lunchtime for everyone else when they finally made their way down. Jesse was still groggy and a bit unsteady on his feet, and nearly fell over when he was greeted with a chorus of cheers from the crew that was already in the cafeteria area. Hanzo got him seated at the table with the others and went to get food, but Fareeha suddenly appeared with two steaming bowls of chili soup for them.

 

“Don't forget what happened last time.” Fareeha grabbed a napkin and made a big show of tucking it into Jesse's collar. 

 

“Last time?!” Jesse sputtered. “I was barely eighteen!”

 

“Yes, well, never can be too careful.” Fareeha patted him on the shoulder and sailed off, leaving him with a table of curious expressions.

 

“So what did happen last time?” Zarya finally asked, eliciting a groan from Jesse. 

 

“Tell us! Tell us!” Junkrat thumped his prosthetic fist on the table, spilling chili on the table. 

 

Jesse finally caved and began telling his story while Hanzo dug into his own meal. 

 

“Hey, Hanzo.” Hana suddenly slid into the seat beside Hanzo with enough speed that her hair swayed in a breeze. Lúcio was hot on her heels, bouncing on his skates behind them. “So Torbs is kicking everybody out of the main areas this afternoon so he can ‘get a better look’, so Lúc and I were thinking of going into the city with some of the others on a supply run and you should _really_ come with us.”

 

Hanzo glanced over at Jesse, hoping for a rescue, but the flannel-clad cowboy was too deep in his story, complete with actions, to notice. Everyone listening was laughing, and Hanzo knew it was for good reason- it had been one of the first stories about McCree that Amari had told him when she had rejoined Overwatch. 

 

“Come on!” Lúcio coaxed. “Don't you want to fix that hack job?”

 

Hanzo sighed, knowing he was defeated by his own vanity. He really did want it fixed.

 

“Very well. When should I meet you?”

 

***

 

Jesse ended up feeling wiped out after lunch, so Hanzo escorted him back to bed and helped him shuck his boots and shirt before Jesse popped the button of his jeans and sprawled on the bed, ready to fall asleep.

 

“Will you be alright for a few hours?” Hanzo sounded hesitant to leave him, but Jesse waved him off.

 

“I'll be fine, don't worry about me.” Jesse grabbed Hanzo’s hand and kissed his knuckles. “I've got my communicator if I need anything.”

 

Hanzo tugged Jesse’s jeans off, which he thought had been fine but felt infinitely better without, and covered him with a blanket. Considering that Jesse didn't remember the door closing, he was pretty sure he had been sawing logs before Hanzo even left. 

 

He awoke mid afternoon, feeling a little better. He grabbed a tablet from the bedside table to check his messages, deleting a few, saving some for later, reading over others. One interesting looking message labeled ‘best fri3nds’ came in from an unknown address sporting a purple skull icon, but he stored it to look at later. Time to get moving.

 

He took his time getting dressed, pulling on his jeans and flannel shirt he had been wearing earlier. It was time consuming with one hand, but he managed to get all the buttons properly on his second try, and he even managed socks and his boots. He placed his hat on his head and rummaged in the drawers until he found a stash of his cigars, and he took one with a lighter out onto the rooftop balcony. Angela wouldn't be pleased if she found out, but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

 

Jesse made himself comfortable on the patio furniture, kicking his feet up on the table and blowing smoke at the sky, enjoying the sun. A transport came in below, but there were no alarms, meaning it was likely agents returning from their afternoon out.

 

Jesse was just starting to doze in the sun when the door to the roof opened and footsteps came towards him. He roused himself and put his feet back on the ground as he stubbed out the cigar, blinking away the sleep in his eyes. He knew that Hanzo would easily find him up here, but even rapid blinking wasn't helping his eyes make sense of what he was seeing.

 

Hanzo stopped when he saw Jesse's face, fidgeting self-consciously. He sported a complete undercut, with the long hair left on top smoothed back into a folded knot. But Jesse had expected some sort of undercut to help fix where Angela had buzzed, so that wasn't exactly a surprise; the piercings were. Jesse couldn't help but gape. Hanzo had two, no _three_ piercings in his right ear, and a bridge piercing. His jacket looked new, and Jesse didn't recognize the pants or boots either. He was barely recognizable, and Jesse found himself at a loss for words. 

 

“I realized it was a good time to attempt to disguise myself.” Hanzo started by way of explaining. “Mei helped with the clothes, perhaps too much. It's too much, isn't it.”

 

“N-no, not at all.” Jesse managed to find his voice. “I was just surprised. Hot damn.”

 

Hanzo did a double take, searching Jesse’s face, and smiled wickedly, apparently catching on to the real reason for Jesse's speechlessness. Jesse got to his feet but just stood there, still taking it all in and deciding Hanzo was the most bad-ass, beautiful thing he had ever seen.

 

Hanzo sauntered towards Jesse in a manner that made his mouth go dry.

 

“So you like it?” Hanzo invaded Jesse's personal space, tweaked his collar and clipped his chin with his fingers to make his gaping mouth shut. 

 

“Holy shit, do I ever.” Jesse gulped. Hanzo must've decided then to take pity on him, pulling him down for a deep kiss. Jesse slid his hand up Hanzo’s back, regretting being down an arm even more, and groaned when Hanzo slid his own arms under the flannel shirt.

 

“Hey!” Soldier:76 barked from by the elevator doors, hands on hips. “What did I say about public spaces!”

 

Jesse pulled away from the kiss but held Hanzo tighter, not letting him pull away.

 

“Maybe you should start minding your own damn business, Morrison!” Jesse hollered, disgruntled at being interrupted. “We were alone until you came!”

 

“I'm coming out on this _public_ balcony with hidden _security_ cameras that _someone_ may or may not be watching and/or recording right now.” Jack folded his arms and fixed his visored glare on them. Jesse was frozen, having completely forgotten about the cameras. Security cameras that Winston would have access to. Security cameras that Winston would give Hana or Lúcio or just about anyone who asked access to.

 

“Your move.” Soldier:76 challenged. 

 

“Alright, alright, we're going.” Jesse finally caved, but it was Hanzo that practically dragged him off the balcony to the door. Jesse glared at the security camera on the way to the elevator, pointing at his eyes and then the camera, hoping it would suffice as warning to any brats behind it.

 

The elevator doors closed and Hanzo pulled him in close and Jesse forgot to be mad for a few moments.

 

_Ding._

 

The elevator door opened as they reached their floor. 

 

“Oi!” Lena was trying but failing to sound indignant. “Get a room, you two!”

 

Hanzo pulled away from his kiss with Jesse, snapping a glare at her with nostrils flaring, but she was not even fazed.

 

“It's a public elevator, anyone could see you up here.” She flicked her gaze meaningfully upwards, and Jesse smacked his forehead when he remembered that there was definitely a sly security camera mounted there. 

 

Hanzo would not know about the cleverly hidden camera, and when he opened his mouth Jesse had no doubts that he was about to unreasonably tell her off, so he acted quickly.

 

“Hey, she's right, let's take this somewhere else.”

 

“What-” Hanzo started, put out and confused.

 

“We can go somewhere with a little more privacy, I think.” Jesse waggled his eyebrows at Hanzo as he dragged him out of the elevator, hoping he'd catch on. Fortunately, Hanzo did.

 

“I see. Yes, that would probably be for the best.”

 

“Cheers, luvs! Have fun! Be responsible.” Lena called after them. Jesse felt his ears go red and Hanzo grumbled something under his breath.

 

They stumbled down the hall into Hanzo’s room, unable to keep their hands off each other as soon as Lena was out of sight. Once the door was shut, Hanzo deftly undid the buttons on Jesse's shirt and pushed it off of his shoulders, taking seconds to undo what took Jesse nearly 15 minutes with one hand. Jesse found he didn't mind, not even a little. 

 

“We should go somewhere.” Hanzo said, apropos of nothing as he directed Jesse to sit on the edge of the bed. 

 

“Uh…” Jesse’s train of thought abruptly stalled. “Like where?”

 

“Anywhere. I could show you where I grew up. You could show me where you grew up.”

 

“That sounds real nice, Hanzo, but I don't think we can.” Jesse sighed. It really did sound nice. “My face is on wanted posters everywhere you look.”

 

“So we give you a makeover as well.” Hanzo gestured to himself and then flipped Jesse's hat off his head. “Lose the cowboy look and no one would look twice. Maybe a suit. Or a leather jacket?”

 

Jesse slumped. He knew he was an odd one out with his gear, but he had become rather fond of it over the years. Did Hanzo really hate it that much?

 

“Oh, don't pout.” Hanzo flicked the tip of Jesse's nose. “If you think I want you to hang up the hat for forever, you'd be sorely mistaken.”

 

Jesse cheered up somewhat at that.

 

“Oh yeah? You got a thing for the cowboy types?”

 

“Maybe I do.” Hanzo tried to be nonchalant, but Jesse burst out laughing. Hanzo half-heartedly punched him in the shoulder, but it was more affectionate than actually intending to hurt.

 

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I've got a thing for you too.” Jesse grinned at Hanzo, who took his hand and smiled back.


End file.
